Man sentenced for death of baby in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The man accused in the death of a baby in Lexington has been sentenced.

Brent Kelty was sentenced Thursday morning to a total of 25 years in prison.

Court documents say 32-year-old Kelty pleaded guilty in January to first-degree manslaughter in connection with the 2018 death of 4-month-old Landon Mayes. He was originally facing a murder charge.

Court documents say that Mayes died from head trauma.

Kelty’s guilty plea came after a lengthy mediation process with prosecutors.

“The commonwealth makes an offer, we make a counteroffer, you know the mediator,” said Russ Baldani, Kelty’s defense attorney. “Each side makes points regarding the case and the mediator’s goal is to help reach a resolution which, obviously, we did.”

Kelty was sentenced to 16 years for the manslaughter charge. He also received nine years for probation violations. Kelty’s attorney said he would be eligible for parole after 13 years and credit for the time he’s already served.

Kelty was also facing charges in a drug trafficking case and we’re told he pleaded guilty. The sentence in that case will run at the same time as the manslaughter sentence.

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